TRADITIONAL, NOT CONVENTIONAL.

Using Heat and/or Cold (March 25, 2014)

Whether to use heat or cold on a painful area is a source of confusion for many people, because they seem to be almost interchangeable. Well, they almost ARE, but not quite. Heat and cold are useful therapeutic tools because they work well, are easy to obtain and use, and are both inexpensive and minimally risky. The rules you need to follow to use them most effectively are fairly simple.

Both heat and cold alleviate pain and relieve muscle spasm. Heat increases circulation, however, and cold decreases it. Cold CAN increase muscle spasm if it isn’t used carefully, although if you are having severe pain, it is a better painkiller than heat. So:

Ice should be used for new injuries and for inflammation (where the area is red, hot and/or swollen). Heat is for chronic ongoing problems. If you’ve just stepped in a hole and hurt your knee, use ice on it. If your back or shoulder tend to ache continually, heat is usually more appropriate. Don’t use heat on a new injury; the increase in circulation that comes with the use of heat is good for a muscle spasm, especially a chronic one, but will just exacerbate an injury in its early stages. Ice CAN be used on chronic problems, but probably a milder form of cold (like a gel pack) would be better to use in those cases.